SuburbanOneSports.com recognizes a male and female featured athlete each week. The awards, sponsored by Univest, are given to seniors of good character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week of Jan. 14, 2015)
Angie Pomponio – who measures in at 5-5 – is hardly an imposing figure on the basketball court, but don’t be fooled. The William Tennent senior, according to her coach, is defined by her toughness. “She’s a tough kid,” coach Paul Veltre said. “There are a lot of attributes that come to mind, but she’s one of the toughest kids. She’s banged up a lot, and she never says anything. She will simply not let us know. In her mind, it’s – I’m going to play no matter what, so what’s the point of me voicing that I’m a little banged up and sore. I like that kind of toughness about her.” Pomponio has started every single game since she was a freshman. She’s needed every ounce of toughness she can muster this season. “My left knee has been bruised since our first league game against Council Rock North,” Pomponio said. It’s not the first injury Pomponio – Tennent’s ‘iron woman’ – has endured along the way. “I don’t want to say I’m used to it, but it doesn’t happen a lot,” she said. “Play through pain – that’s my motto.”
Although Pomponio – who is averaging around 11 points a game – no longer mans the point in most offensive sets, there’s no mistaking that Veltre wants the ball in his senior captain’s hands when opposing teams apply defensive pressure. “She’s always been able to handle the ball pretty well,” Veltre said. “That was the gift she had in the time she was playing with us.”
Much as Pomponio loves basketball, she is equally passionate about horses. She is employed at Timber Edge Farm where she cleans stalls, feeds the horses and helps younger and new riders tack up their horses. She also rehabilitates horses. “I have the best job,” Pomponio said. “My trainer (who also owns the farm) pays me for working and then I pay her right back for lessons.” Although her plans are not finalized, Pomponio plans to combine her love of horses and her passion for basketball next year. Kutztown University – which has an equestrian program – would afford the Tennent senior an opportunity to do both.
An excellent student Pomponio is enrolled in two AP and three honors classes. She plans to major in secondary education. Pomponio is involved in Student Government and is a three-year member of the school’s athletic council. She participates in Tennent’s Black and White spirit competition and Powder Puff.
To read Pomponio’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/angie-pomponio-0050074
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Jan. 14, 2015)
It’s no wonder that Micah Jones wants to become a state trooper. As his coaches at Quakertown will be the first to convey, the two-sport standout is one of the good guys in a world where bad guys get the headlines. “Such a great young man – he never uses foul language and is an excellent role mode,” wrestling coach Kurt Handel said. “Micah leads by example, and the kids look up to him. He has a very jovial personality and always is smiling.” Added football coach George Banas, “Micah has a personality that just makes you want to be around him because he makes you laugh and enjoy life.” Jones’ background story is all the more intriguing because he is the eighth of nine children – and third of three boys – but became the first in the family to seriously pursue organized, competitive sports when he went out for football and wrestling in seventh grade.
In wrestling, it has been a slow and steady climb to prominence for Jones, who was 6-25 as a freshman but was undaunted. Following a sophomore football season where he started on the offensive line, Jones carried over the success to the mat, going 21-11. Last year, at 25-13, he qualified for districts. This year, over the holidays, he grappled his way onto the wrestling map with a head-turning performance at the prestigious Bethlehem Holiday Tournament, placing fourth and even surprising himself. “I never placed before,” said Jones, who said that he often dealt with an issue where his “knees would come out” at inopportune times earlier in his wrestling career. The feat was even more impressive given that it came a little more than three weeks after the end of a stellar season on the football field. “It is ranked one of the toughest tournaments in the nation,” Handel said. “This was quite an accomplishment because he had only practiced three weeks since finishing the football season.”
And what a football season it was. Coming into his own as a defensive end, Jones – at 6-2 and 210 pounds – had 56 tackles and 10 for a loss. His eight sacks and 11 hurries led the team. He has a visit planned for Shippensburg in the near future, and what a Division II level program would be getting – aside from a quality person – is an emerging athlete who has translated the skills he learned in wrestling into being a relentless edge rusher on the football field.
Jones, with a 3.3 GPA, will have to pair up with a school that has criminal justice along with a football program where his skill set is also a match. Numbers aside, it was Jones’ intangibles that set him apart. “Micah was a captain on the football team, elected by his peers,” said Banas. “He has been starting on the varsity since he was a sophomore and has been a leader on and off the field. A lot of that starts at home where he learned – on a daily basis – that it is not all about him.” Jones, who is involved in youth ministry, hopes to one day be a leader in the larger community. “I always like the idea of law enforcement,” he said. “I just like helping people. I’ve always been like that.”
To view Jones’ complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/micah-jones-0050075
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